The Chiefs have lost just once since Nov. 1, and they’ll get a chance to avenge that defeat on Sunday.
Four weeks ago, the Bengals edged the Chiefs 34-31 in Cincinnati and clinched the AFC North title. The stakes are higher on Sunday as the teams will meet in the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium.
This will be the second meeting between quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, and their teams combined for 889 yards on Jan. 2, so there could be more offensive fireworks this time around.
Who will win Sunday? Here is what 74 national experts are saying about the game, which kicks off at 2:05 p.m. and will be broadcast on KCTV (Ch. 5).
A 31-24 Chiefs win is the forecast from Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times. Here is an excerpt from his story: “The Chiefs have a chance to reach the Super Bowl for the third year in a row, and they have the quarterback to do it. Good as the Bengals are, they still feel a year away.”
A 33-32 Bengals victory is the prediction from Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com. Here is part of his story: “I’ve got reasons this Bengals team makes me smile. In an offense-first league, I don’t trust either of these defenses to make many stops, similar to the Chargers-Chiefs, Bengals-Chiefs and Bills-Chiefs games that came before it. All of those games came down to the final possession, and two went to overtime.”
A 31-28 Chiefs win is the prediction from Bill Bender of the Sporting News. Here is a snippet from his story: “Mahomes is 7-1 with 23 TDs and one interception in AFC playoff games, and the home-field advantage will be a difference maker. This will be close, too, and the Bengals prove they are going to be a force. Kansas City, however, makes one more big play in crunch time.”
A 38-28 Chiefs victory is the prediction from Yardbarker’s Chris Mueller. Here is a portion of his story: “The Chiefs are favored by a touchdown for a reason; they’re near-invincible at home, and with Mahomes having fully put his early-season doldrums behind him, they really just look unstoppable unless the opposition mounts a furious pass rush a la Tampa Bay in last year’s Super Bowl. Even then, the Chiefs were playing backup tackles, and Mahomes was hobbled by bad ankles. Trey Hendrickson will play for the Bengals in this game, but will that be enough?”
A 30-27 Chiefs win is the forecast from Ben Rolfe of Pro Football Network.This is a passage from his story: “The performance of the two defenses in recent weeks is very telling. The Chiefs have given up points seemingly at will, while the Bengals have largely kept things tight. Whether this young Bengals team has enough to go into Arrowhead and win is tough to judge, but giving them 7 points feels like too much in what should be an entertaining game.”
The Chiefs will win, says ProFootballTalk’s Michael David Smith and Mike Florida. Smith sees a 38-34 score and wrote in part: “I expect Burrow to have another big game on Sunday, but I think Mahomes will match him drive for drive, and this time I like the Chiefs to be the ones to pull out the win in the last minute.” Florio has the Chiefs winning 41-24. This is part of what he wrote: “The Bengals are the future. The Chiefs are the present. Drop any team into Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, and Kansas City wins. ’72 Dolphins, ’85 Bears. Any of them. And look for the Bengals to go down swinging; the last thing they’ll want to do is to change who they are.”
Six of the eight writers at CBS Sports predicted a Chiefs victory: Pete Prisco, Jason LaCanfora, Will Brinson, Jared Dubin, Jamey Eisenberg and Dave Richard. Going with the Bengals: Ryan Wilson and John Breech. Prisco has KC winning 34-32. Here is an excerpt: “This will be another game about the two quarterbacks. Both will have success throwing it and both will roll up big numbers. In the end, the Chiefs are the better team, but it will be close. It will go down to the wire, but Kansas City will be moving on.”
Six of seven Athletic writers see the Chiefs winning: Nick Kosmider, Tashan Reed, Michael-Shawn Dugar, Ben Standig, Chris Burke and Katherine Terrell. The pick for Cincinnati: Mark Kaboly. This is part of the Athletic’s story: “The Chiefs have scored 42 points in each of its first two playoff games, a testament to Patrick Mahomes and the offense playing its best football at the right time. Mahomes just picked apart Buffalo’s top-ranked defense for 447 total yards and four touchdowns, thrice leading go-ahead drives in final minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime. Cincinnati’s pass defense is nowhere near the caliber of Buffalo’s, which is an excellent sign for Mahomes coming into this matchup. But there’s another kicker here. And that would be the Chiefs’ porous (to put it gently) defense. Kansas City allowed 422 yards and 36 points to the Bills. Joe Burrow picked that unit apart on Jan. 2. The Chiefs have proven they can win high-scoring games, but another big day for Burrow will make it much more of a sweat.”
The Chiefs will prevail, three Bleacher report writers believe: Wes O’Donnell (34-24 final score), Connor Rogers (37-34) and Ian Kenyon (34-24). This is part of what O’Donnell wrote: “Cincinnati, for all the fun it’s been, is lucky to be here. Meanwhile, Kansas City is playing in its fourth straight AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead. That isn’t luck. The Chiefs won the de facto AFC title game last week against the Buffalo Bills, and they’ll teach the Bengals a lesson in this game that Cincy can grow from in years to come.”
Each of the seven writers at USA Today think the Chiefs will win: Jarrett Bell (34-24 final score), Nate Davis (42-34), Jori Epstein (33-31), Mike Freeman (34-27), Mike Jones (35-29), Mike Middlehurst-Schwartz (38-24) and Lorenzo Reyes (31-26).
All 10 members of the Dallas Morning-News see the Chiefs prevailing: Tim Cowlishaw, Newy Scruggs, Craig Miller, Dana Larson, Michael Gehlken, Kevin Sherrington, Calvin Watkins, Damon Marx, Jean-Jacques Taylor and David Moore.
Nine of the 11 pundits at ESPN have the Chiefs winning: Jeremy Fowler, Damien Woody, Rob Ninkovich, Kevin Seifert, Mike Clay, Seth Wickersham, Matt Bowen, Domonique Foxworth and Laura Rutledge. Going with the Bengals: Emmanuel Acho and Dan Graziano.
Four of six writers at northjersey.com think the Chiefs will win: Steve Edelson, Martin Frank, Art Stapleton and Andy Vasquez. The picks for Cincinnati: Tom Moore and Sal Malorana.
All three Kansas City Star reporters picked the Chiefs: Herbie Teope (42-20 final score), Sam McDowell (34-23) and Vahe Gregorian (35-21).
A Chiefs win is the prediction from all four Athlon Sports writers: Bryan Fischer, Ben Weinrib, Rob Doster and Aaron Wilson.
A Chiefs victory is the prediction from the five Audacy writers: Jordan Cohn, Jesse Pantuosco, Tim Kelly, John Healy and Dan Mennella.
A KC win is the call from the two Sky Sports reporters: Neil Reynolds and Jeff Reibold.
The Chiefs will win, FiveThirtyEight.com said..